Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blames the “bloc thinking” of Western countries for failing to adjust to the present realities.

"Unfortunately, the Euro-Atlantic military-political processes are lagging behind the rapidly changing realities,” Lavrov said at the Federation Council on Wednesday. “The political elites of a number of Western countries are still obviously backsliding into bloc thinking."

"Certain politicians wish to reanimate the image of a geopolitical adversary in the person of our country,” the minister said, adding that such scare tactics helps to preserve “a strong military-political bond between the United States and European NATO members."